A conventional urinary drainage bag as used by an ambulatory catheterized patient is commonly strapped to the leg at or above the knee so that urine will flow into the bag under the influence of gravity. Such an arrangement has a number of disadvantages that may cause inconvenience, discomfort, and even possible serious injury to the wearer. To prevent such a bag from sliding downwardly along the thigh and below the knee, a wearer often finds it necessary to draw the support straps tightly about the leg, thereby inhibiting venous circulation and often irritating and even excoriating the skin of the leg. As such a bag becomes filled with urine, there is an increased tendency for it to slide downwardly despite the tightness of the straps, eventually putting stress on the urethral catheter and causing further discomfort. The tensioning of a catheter under such circumstances may cause irritation to the neck of the bladder (because of the increased pressure caused by the retention balloon at the catheter's distal end) and, in the case of a male patient, may cause prostate irritation. A descended leg bag also becomes more conspicuous, may tend to inhibit walking and other body movements, and, in general, is likely to cause patient distress, embarrassment, and discomfort.
Even more serious problems may develop for a patient (either ambulatory or bedridden) who has a drainage bag hooked at the bedside while resting in bed. Should the patient, in attempting to get out of bed, accidentally step on the catheter tube, the drainage bag, or the elongated drain tube, or unwittingly catch the bag, catheter, or drain tube on some obstruction, he (she) may cause a pulling force to be exerted on the catheter and its inflated balloon, often producing intense pain and, on occasion, rupturing the urethra and causing bleeding, sepsis, and other severe problems.